I’m a male stripper and my stage title is Temptation… People assume we have now it simple – but it surely’s a harmful job

It is common knowledge that the jobs of pilots, miners and soldiers are thought to be among the world’s most dangerous.

But, there is one line of work where the men claim the risks are severely underestimated.

While a pilot could be faced with an engine failure, a miner with a collapsing tunnel and a soldier with rounds of bullets, those in the exotic dancing industry say they are under a more subtle kind of threat.

Stripper Gary Maloney, whose stage name is Temptation, has shared insight into the darker side of the industry and revealed why he must always watch his back.

The 49-year-old Londoner told MailOnline how during performances he has been forced to protect himself from ‘wild’ audience members trying to bite and scratch him.

He said: ‘If people are a bit too drunk, you’ve just got to make sure you keep your eyes out so your stuff doesn’t get taken and you don’t get injured because sometimes girls will bite you or scratch you and stuff like that.’

The father-of-two also stressed the importance of a performer being able to assess the risk level posed by the audience.

He explained: ‘You have to gauge your crowd. One thing I think I’ve learned over the years of being a stripper is protecting yourself because sometimes when you’re in groups of women they can be a bit wild.

Stripper Gary Maloney, whose stage name is Temptation, has shared insight into the darker side of the industry and revealed why he must always watch his back

The 49-year-old told MailOnline how during performances he has been forced to protect himself from ‘wild’ audience members trying to bite and scratch him

Mr Maloney enjoys being a stripper but stressed, despite what critics say, that it is a demanding full-time occupation that requires a lot of discipline and work

‘They can go to scratch you and pull you or nick your outfit and uniform.

‘You’ve always got to have your wits about you. 

‘I think the first few years I’ve done it, I was probably a little bit nervous and naive, but now I’m kind of like very clued up when it comes to reading a room.’

Mr Maloney enjoys being a stripper but stressed, despite what critics say, that it is a demanding full-time occupation that requires a lot of discipline and work.

‘It’s not easy. I think if you’re not in the industry you probably don’t know how much goes into the performance outside of it. 

‘A lot of people will say, “That’s such an easy job”, but you’ve got to keep yourself looking good, you have to use all the supplements, you have to weight train, you have to do cardio, you have to keep your hair nice, your beard nice and you’ve got to smell good.

 ‘There are a lot of things that are involved, but it’s certainly not something that I complain about. I love it’.

The father-of-two also stressed the importance of a performer being able to assess the risk level posed by the audience

He explained: ‘You have to gauge your crowd. One thing I think I’ve learned over the years of being a stripper is protecting yourself because sometimes when you’re in groups of women they can be a bit wild’

Having been in the industry for more than 15 years Mr Maloney is a seasoned stripper and can deal with most of what’s thrown at him – including situations that would  rattle most performers.

However, he revealed how there is one particular scenario that keeps him up at night.

Mr Maloney said: ‘What a lot of strippers don’t like is when you get someone up on the stage to sit down and you want to perform with them, but they want to kind of take over and they get up and they dance and they move around.

‘Sometimes when you get someone up, you want them to just sit there and you perform and if they’re kind of playing up and getting up and playing up to the crowd, it makes it a bit difficult.’

He added: ‘But I don’t mind people getting up and dancing around me. I’m pretty easygoing.’

 Mr Maloney shared how his personal pet peeve does not involve the audience at all.

‘The thing I hate most is actually if my music cuts out or if my music doesn’t play or anything like that. 

‘It’s happened to me only a few times in my career where the music is cut off on the sound system or it hasn’t played or, you know, stuff like that.

‘And that’s one of the things I always dread. It can ruin the show.’